


Do What You Will

by auld_cheeky



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Speculation, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-25
Updated: 2013-02-05
Packaged: 2017-11-26 19:38:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/653716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auld_cheeky/pseuds/auld_cheeky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing worth having comes easy. A fix-it in which the weekend is that of Valentine's and Kurt has many things he's keeping from Blaine – the two of which are unrelated, of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fallovermelikestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallovermelikestars/gifts).



> I couldn't have gotten through this bugger without the support of the lovely, brilliant Jo. Seriously, two in a million, love. 
> 
> Other than that, I tagged for spoilers but really most of this has nothing to do with what spoilers or rumors are circulating at the moment. I guess this could be construed as spec, so there you are. I've a neverending itch for fix-it fics so I scratched it myself. Will be posting every day until it's out, so WIP-phobes never fear. Enjoy!

Incoming call: Kurt Hummel ****  
8:46pm EST Wednesday, January 23  
  
 **B** : Hello?

 **K:** Blaine. I just finished writing one of the best finals to ever be turned in for Theory 2B. Really, it was a dissertation on Sondheim's writing and it delved into the relationship between music and lyricism, but I stayed just under the word max. Knock knock, orange you proud of me?

 **K:** Shoot, I'm talking your ear off again. Sorry, waiting for a cab. It is _cold!_

 **K:** ...So, how are you?

 **B:** You know, the interest doesn't sound more sincere when you add those pauses. ****

**K:** And here I was thinking I was coming away with Miss Congeniality. **  
**

 **B:** ( _laughs_ ) **  
**

 **K:** You of all people should know it's sincere! I'd like to think that when it's not I fake it better. **  
**

 **B:** I'm proud of you and this so-called mother of all finals. A little surprised you resisted compare-and-contrasting, to be honest...  


 **K:** Don't tempt me. It doesn't have to be submitted until Sunday night. **  
**

 **B:** I just... How will we ever know for sure if he truly was the best composer of the century? Couldn't you perhaps add– **  
**

 **K:** Don't say it. **  
**

 **B:** Some multimedia elements to this bitch? **  
**

 **K:** You horrible ass. I'm hanging up this instant, it's an essay and it shall remain that way. **  
**

 **B:** I think it's my moral obligation to encourage such temptations, frankly. It's only fair after you bought me that online bowtie subscription. **  
**

**K:** You didn't answer my original question, Blaine. **  
**

 **B:** What? I'm good. I thought I said I'm good. **  
**

 **K:** Oh, okay then. Got any plans this evening? **  
**

 **B:** Well, I mean, not– **  
**

 **K:** Oh my God, as if you can shake me off that easily. Who do you think you're talking to? **  
**

 **B:** ( _sighs_ ) What more can I say? I could be better, I could know where I'm going to school in under eight months, I could know without a doubt that you and I are okay... **  
**

 **K:** Oh. **  
**

 **B:** I figure I can't direct all my anxiety at a whole 'nother state, even one as big as New York. You guys aren't withholding any answers to my life questions, are you? **  
**

 **K:** I... I don't think we have any. **  
**

 **B:** Right. Well. **  
**

 **K:** Any plans for the weekend, maybe? **  
**

**B:** Not yet. If I end up at Sam's or Tina's it's usually just a text away. **  
**

**K:** That's pretty– **  
**

 **B:** Small town? Predictable? **  
**

 **K:** I was gonna say convenient, but. **  
**

 **B:** ( _laughs faintly)_ I guess that works. **  
**

 **K:** ... **  
**

 **B:** Oh, hey. What do you have planned? Tonight? Or, uh, this weekend? **  
**

 **K:** Haven't got a clue. My friend Liz from the fabric shop got free tickets to an improv show. It's a walk but alternatively, she's been begging to set me up, so it's not a hard choice. **  
**

 **B:** Is it– it's not? **  
**

 **K:** Yeah, well, maybe I'll indulge her once so she'll shut her trap, but it's not really... _appealing_ , you know? **  
**

 **B:** God, Kurt, can I, like, expedite some Malibu to your door? **  
**

 **K:** ( _chortles_ ) Trying to loosen up my tongue, huh? Why ever would you do that? **  
**

 **B:** Could you just– um, would you elaborate on what's not appealing. Like, would that be dating in general, going on a _blind_ date...? **  
**

 **K:** I'm waiting for that delivery, but nothing's happening. I'll give you a minute more, I guess. **  
**

**B:** I will owe you that drink, I promise. **  
**

 **K:** ...Mm-hmm. Well, I'm feeling something like chatty or generous tonight. Let's put it this way. And keep in mind, you can't blame me if getting back to total honesty between us takes some getting used to. Can't blame me if you don't like what you hear. **  
**

 **B:** Honesty's... a good policy. **  
**

 **K:** So, say you've grown up trying to find a cologne that really suits you. There'd been some before that smelled really sweet, or maybe burned fast with a whole lot of sex appeal. Those didn't work out, but that wasn't the end of the world. So you kept looking for one you had the right chemistry with. And then you find the right one – or at least, all signs point to that being the case – and you haven't changed vital parts of yourself to find that one cologne. Still with me? **  
**

 **B:** Uh-huh. **  
**

 **K:** You feel amazing, _good_ in a way you never thought possible, knowing that its scent and feel and all the rest belong to you. And you're not the same when it's not around. Then you go away for a bit – maybe for a vacation, I don't know – and you leave it at home. Unbeknownst to you, your chemistry isn't gonna be the same when you're reunited. Sure, you change, maybe you try some other fragrances while you're out: on your wrist, in passing... Meanwhile, some anonymous face is coming in and and trespassing and stealing that signature, precious thing from both of us. Actually, no, the cologne is _willingly_ going... And that faceless asshole has no idea what he has in his hands, or what bond he's shattered... **  
**

 **B:** And the cologne? **  
**

 **K:** God, Blaine, it doesn't do to focus on blame at this stage in the game, no one comes away clean, but wouldn't you agree we had a good thing going? **  
**

 **B:** Of course, Kurt, you know– **  
**

 **K:** Wait, stop. We already did this. What I was trying to say... So I know of this amazing chemistry I had once with someone else. I am also well aware that if I go looking, I could come up with twenty names that would be _proud_ to be associated with mine. And we could go well together, but it might not be the spark I had with... the first one. What feels like ages ago, you put a smile on my face where there hadn't been one for long, lonely _years_. **  
**

(a long pause) **  
**

 **K:** Look. I know we're both dedicated to mending that bond. I hope you take it as me being nothing but sincere and forthcoming when I say it might never end up like that again – not that I don't want it to, it just **might** not. **  
**

 **B:** I know. **  
**

 **K:** And if you knew how good this cologne of yours could be, then you wouldn't want it to come out on top just because it was first, right? And definitely not if some rat bastard at Karl Lagerfeld defames his whole legacy by changing the damn formula. **  
**

**B:** It's a miracle I'm still hanging onto your metaphors, Kurt. **  
**

 **K:** ( _laughs, a brash nervous exhale_ ) I know, I know. That's why I – ( _a pause_ ) – keep you around. **  
**

 **B:** So...what you're trying to say is you may or may not be in the market for a new cologne, but not just yet? **  
**

 **K:** Oh, I don't know. My old one still smells pretty good, don't you think? **  
**

 **B:** I... don’t even know how to respond to that. **  
**

 **K:** Well I have to go do some terribly riveting new student paperwork. Next time I call you’re gonna be the one talking my ear off for a change, alright? **  
**

 **B:** ( _sighs_ ) I have some big shoes to fill. **  
**

 **K:** Shut up. Night. **  
**

 **B:** Night, Kurt.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaine very pointedly doesn't have plans for the weekend, but all signs indicate otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologize if the change in format between parts 1 and 2 is jarring, but it’s what was necessary.

 5:27 pm

Thursday, February 14  
  
 **Twitter**  
Mentioned by @AlternaTina: (2 hours ago)  
@B_Warbler If ur not gonna mourn past relationships w/ @ArtsyAbrams  & me 2moro nite u better have 1) a date w/ Ryan Gosling or 2) the plague  
  
 **Kurt Hummel**  
Missed Calls (3)  & Voicemail  
  
 **Marley Rose**  
So you think it looked like “Can’t Help Falling In Love” had the right effect on Jake?  
 **Cooper Anderson**  
What did you say the yellow roses meant again?  
 **Cooper Anderson**  
Are carnations less monogamous? What about...  
  
Blaine always tried to set an example as an unofficial leader in glee club, keeping his phone on silent during practice and usually until he got home. It didn’t _own_ him. As the first one home, he entered the dim, quiet entryway of his house and locked the door behind him, pretending to be calm and composed as he went about his routine: keys placed on their hook, messenger bag unslung, coat unbuttoned one at a time...

He lost his resolution as soon as his phone flashed again from the side pocket of his bag.

Readily ignoring the barrage of text messages, each one more despairing than the one previous – and _really_ , Lopez, you couldn’t even wait until the sun was fully set before you started binging? – Blaine hovered a finger over the Phone icon for one short moment before he hungrily moved to play the voicemail from Kurt.

 **“** _Hey, stranger. I know we haven’t talked in like a week but I hope you’ll hear out my totally legitimate excuse. Anyway, you must be doing glee right about now, but please call me back as soon as you listen to this. It’s– well, it’s not an emergency, but it is...time sensitive, I guess I’d say.”_ **  
**

Time sensitive. Jesus. Blaine abruptly lunged towards the stairs, tucking his phone under an elbow to dry his slippery palms hastily on the sides of his chinos. Sparing his last shred of dignity, he calculatedly locked his bedroom door (for reasons unknown), removed his shoes and left them by his desk, then gave up and flung himself masterfully into a full sprawl across the bedspread. If it had been ten years ago, he’d have a phone cord artfully twirling around his finger. Blaine was pretty in pine green. **  
**

With one final deep breath and an all-too-familiar reminder to himself to keep his hopes reasonable, he started a call and hoped against hope that Kurt, one of the only people he actually liked talking on the phone to, would pick up on the first try. **  
**

 **“** _Kurt Hummel.”_ **  
**

Blaine’s breath caught. “H-hey.” **  
**

 **“** _Blaine? Oh my God, hi. Sorry, I’m just– I’m walking back to our building from the corner store, I answered the call with my headset. I didn’t expect your call until later. It’s good to hear your voice again. How are you?”_ **  
**

**“** I’m good, Kurt. Thanks for... asking.” He sat up. “Hey, do you want me to call back? If you’ve got your hands tied or something I can–” **  
**

 **“** _No! Are you kidding? When I said time sensitive I meant it. Just, give me a sec.”_ Blaine heard the rustling of bags on the other line. **“** _I’m still psyching myself up for this conversation.”_ **  
**

 **“** Feel free to... continue psyching,” Blaine fumbled. Kurt snorted. **  
**

 **“** _I think I’m good. So, okay. Before we begin, any plans for this weekend?”_ **  
**

_Kill me now._ **“** I, uh... We really should start with your thing,” Blaine said. “I have no idea when my dad’s gonna get home and I’ll need to start helping with dinner.” **  
**

 **“** _Won’t take too long. You first. Unless your agenda’s so full you’ll need a few hours to go over it all, hotshot.”_ **  
**

**“** Ha-ha. I mean, there isn’t anything really big going on. I don’t even think Sugar knows if she’s dating anyone or not, so she was way more concerned about that than putting something on at Breadstix. Tina and Artie invited me to what’s essentially a pity party, but I told them I couldn’t because...” Blaine trailed off, well aware of the delight it gave him to get just a dash of payback. Even if he didn’t know what was coming next. **  
**

 **“** _Because... of a previous engagement?”_ Kurt prompted, his voice going a bit feathery at the end. **  
**

 **“** Nah,” Blaine said, hoping he could keep the smugness out of his voice – he’d tipped the scales, if only for a fleeting second. “I just... well, it’s not that I didn’t feel like it. I’m never one to turn down an invitation to hang out, you know, even if would be kind of a downer of a night. I guess I just would rather keep my night free than fill it with something sort of... less? Does that make sense? I’ll pick myself up and dust myself off Saturday, maybe go to that scifi double feature Sam’s been bugging me about. But tomorrow – and by that I mean _today_ , really, but I think only Santana is extending her misery into a four-day weekend – is about love and romance and after spending a week getting everyone’s sparkly relationships shoved in my face, it’d feel like I’m kidding myself if I spent Friday night trying too hard to have fun with my very-much-platonic friends.” **  
**

Kurt laughed, just little hot puffs of air that Blaine imagined feeling down the line. **“** _I am outrageously glad,”_ Kurt said, **“** _to hear you don’t have plans.”_ **  
**

Blaine’s insides swooped and he let out a garbled question akin to, “Whoa yea-yuh?” **  
**

Kurt giggled. Try as he might, Blaine couldn’t help but hear his next words as a dirty secret: **“** _I did something_ really _stupid.”_ **  
**

 **“** Um, bad stupid?” **  
**

 **“** _Not anymore.”_ There was a definite smile in his tone. **  
**

**“** Go on...” And maybe there was one in Blaine’s too. **  
**

 **“** _So last weekend Rachel invited Brody over and we all had a few glasses of wine, just chatting about God knows what, how not to die during the full-day dance workshops I signed up for over Spring Break, whether Carmen Tibideaux’s headscarves are full of secrets or just the broken spirits of aspiring performers... Anyway, as usual the night eventually devolved into Rachel fawning, both of them being awkward and I just don’t even know what their problem is.”_ **  
**

**“** That whole thing’s still kind of a mess, isn’t it?” **  
**

 **“** _Just be glad you don’t have to listen to the louder half of it on a daily basis. That night I decided to leave them to whatever and I retreated to my room (possibly with a mostly-full bottle of white to tide me over). Well, I was just drunk enough to make half-baked online purchases, and looking ahead I knew the last thing I wanted to do was spend Valentine’s Day weekend around those two.”_ **  
**

Blaine laughed easily, though his free hand was clutching steadily to his bedsheets. “I don’t blame you.” **  
**

 **“** _Right? So, yeah. I may have bought plane tickets to Ohio for the weekend with some of my savings. Gave myself a whole four days like I thought I earned it. Oh God, it was incredibly dumb. I didn’t even know if I could get time off, or if I could miss my lecture on Monday... Thankfully I found out as long as I attend my morning voice lesson on Friday I’ll be home free; a friend’s gonna send me his notes from Theory so I don’t have to worry about that._ **  
**

**“** _So that’s why I’ve been so awful at calling and texting, I’ve been up to my elbows in Vogue.com and NYADA stuff trying to make sure I could actually take that vacation time... Vacation time I asked for after the fact. I guess I figured since I’m not gonna be able to visit home over Spring Break this is my chance. This just goes to show even when you think your laptop password is 100% drunk-proof, it could still probably use a few more characters and numbers.”_ **  
**

Blaine’s mind had been too preoccupied with its steady chorus of _What what_ ** _what_** _WHAT what what_ what _what WHAT what what_ to realize neither of them had spoken, and he was to blame for drawing the silence out. **  
**

 **“** So you’re coming to Lima, then?” **  
**

 **“** _Yeah. Approximately... tomorrow.”_ **  
**

_Safe questions, safe questions._ **“** Does your dad know?” **  
**

 **“** _No-ooo, he doesn’t.”_ **  
**

**“** Does anyone else know?” **  
**

 **“** _Not really. Um, not yet. Don’t tell anyone, please. I’d like it to be a surprise.”_ **  
**

**“**...Am I supposed to act surprised?” **  
**

**“** _Don’t be silly. I_ had _to tell you.”_ **  
**

 _Kurt Hummel, you have beaten around the bush far too much for one day._ **“** And why is that?” Blaine murmured, attempting nonchalance and ending up sounding mildly nauseous. **  
**

 **“** _Oh. I thought I made that obvious. I had to know you were free.”_ **  
**

_Oh._ **  
**

Blaine struggled to string together his thoughts. “So are you– uh, did you plan someth–” **  
**

 **“** _Hush, you’ll find out soon enough. Just. Keep your schedule clear, alright? Will you do that for me?”_ Kurt asked coyly in a tone Blaine hadn’t heard in months – he shivered and savored it against his better judgment. **  
**

Was it even a question? “Yeah, Kurt. Of course.” **  
**

 **“** _Oh! Um, unless you had your heart set on that double feature.”_ **  
**

Despite the gratingly perfect tone of false earnestness Kurt put on, somehow Blaine found he didn’t mind conceding all that much. “I think I’ll survive.” **  
**

 **“** _See you soon, then.”_ **  
**

**“** Yeah.” Blaine was still grasping for something better to say when the call ended.

_Will you do that for me?_

~

Friday was easily the longest day of Blaine Anderson’s life. **  
**

Finn had cancelled glee practice for that Friday afternoon weeks in advance, knowing most of the club members would’ve begged off with half-assed excuses anyway in favor of celebrating – or bemoaning – the holiday. Even so, that had left Blaine with seven hours of being at school when he really mostly wanted to hurl due to equal parts anticipation and nerves. **  
**

Come half noon, Blaine was seated amongst friends in the cafeteria and dazedly observing his lunch plate, drawing swirling patterns with one of his french fries and a trail of ranch. There raged a heated debate in his head over whether he should shave again after school (he’d already done so before), or whether the tiniest bit of scruff might appeal to College Kurt. Enter the first sign of life he’d gotten from Kurt all day. **  
**

 **Kurt Hummel  
** Do you know what you’re feeling right now?

Blaine studiously avoided drawing attention to himself as he whipped his cell phone off the table and into his lap to reply. _Yes, you sadist,_ he thought, _I know that I’m feeling nervous and giddy and annoyed and scared and_ distracted _... not to mention I’ve gotten semi-hard in every class period and even when you do things like this it just makes me want you more._ **  
**

 _No, what am I feeling?_ Blaine replies.

 _> >You now know what it’s like to be Kurt Hummel circa junior year._ **  
**

That was not in the top twenty things he would’ve guessed. **  
**

 _Point taken._ **  
**

_> >Boarding soon, should touch down in Columbus around 3:30._ **  
**

_Btw, what is your plan for getting here? Your dad still doesn’t know, right?_ **  
**

_> >I was wondering if you could give me a ride? _ **  
**

The drive was easily two hours each way. **  
**

 _Ok. The earliest I can be there is around 5._ And that was booking it, without a trip home first. **  
**

 _> >No worries, don’t you dare rush. I can grab a cab downtown. I’ll need a solid few hours to shop for myself, and then maybe ten minutes to drop by that Buckeyes shop for Dad._ **  
**

_10 bucks says you last no more than five._ **  
**

_> >I won’t take that bet out of sheer indignation. I’ll cover the gas, okay?_ **  
**

_How about you tell me your scheme and my fee is waived?_ **  
**

_> >I’ll cover the gas and you won’t try to stop me._ **  
**

Well aware that he didn’t want to lose any more time than necessary while stopped at home, Blaine was already in the process of calculating how much of a change to his present outfit he could get away with. Something that he would never wear to school in actuality, but that he could get away with wearing _in theory_ **–** it could _not_ be obvious he’d changed, but his pants weren’t even full-length at the moment, his cardigan didn’t even have that upper-arm snugness he preferred. Something that wasn’t presumptuous but that definitely drew the eye to what he knew were Kurt’s soft spots.

~

Having finally found paid parking in the vicinity of the coffeehouse they’d agreed to meet at, Blaine folded his arms against the brash chill and navigated his way through the buzzing city streets, towards the golden glow of a shop he’d spotted from two blocks down. Telling himself to focus on the slush around his shoes so as to avoid an absolute nightmare, he only really looked up to make sure he had the right place – with the same wooden floors and paneling he remembered, the same fireplace near the back in front of which Kurt had once admitted to writing fanmail to Barbra Streisand every day for an entire year of grade school (“ _Like The Notebook, Blaine!”_ ). **  
**

Moments later, he crossed the threshold and vaguely noticed the bell jingle somewhere above his head. The air was thick with warmth and the heady smell of coffee grounds, and Blaine spotted Kurt at the far side of the seating area, in an armchair with one finger at his temple as he flipped idly through a magazine in his lap. His long legs were crossed and they _still_ went for miles in gray wash jeans that hugged every contour until those black ankle boots. Kurt hadn’t looked up at the sound of the door, and Blaine stepped aside to let others pass as he took just one more second to look. **  
**

Kurt had a discreet carry-on tucked under the table next to him, and when his free hand wasn’t handling pages, his arm floated up so his finger could trace mindless circles over top of a ceramic coffee mug. **  
**

 _It’s time._ Blaine summoned up a little push and made his way across the floor, navigating around a couple sofas and a lamp. Kurt glanced up at the movement and his gaze caught; his lips quirked shyly, the magazine fell to the rug below with a light thud as he stood up, taking long strides to close the distance. Kurt’s arms interlaced somewhere around the center of Blaine’s back before he could think twice about what type of greeting was appropriate. One of them – he wasn’t sure which – inhaled deeply and the other followed. **  
**

_My old one still smells pretty good, don't you think?_ **  
**

Before they fully untangled, Kurt slipped a delicate quick kiss to one of Blaine’s cheeks, hardly more than a split-second touch of his lips. But even French Immersion Lima Kurt wasn’t one for the traditional _bisoux_ to each cheek. Was this a New York thing? **  
**

Kurt was stepping back and rubbing the backs of his knuckles over the reddened apples of his cheeks. _Oh._ This was a Columbus thing. **  
**

"So,” Kurt was saying, “did you want a drink or anything? Their cookies are heavenly. But you know that.” **  
**

"Well, I guess that depends on what your evil plan involves.” **  
**

"First, would you happen to have that overnight bag you always kept in your car? I was gonna suggest we get dinner but I’d die if I showed up anywhere with so little height to my hair.” **  
**

"You’re here now, aren’t you?” **  
**

"That’s beside the point.” **  
**

"I do have it with me,” Blaine said. **  
**

"Great. You sure you don’t want coffee, then? Tea?” **  
**

"Are you–” Blaine peered into the mug set behind Kurt. “I guess you’d be ready to go, then? …Wherever it is.” **  
**

"I’m offering free caffeine. Dinner can wait.” **  
**

"You won’t take no for an answer, will you?” Blaine had no plans for the next 72 hours, he was in Columbus, Ohio and not a soul but Kurt knew it, and the hairspray in his trunk had just been officially reserved by his best friend-cum-ex-boyfriend. **  
**

Kurt grinned, then schooled his lips together into something less pleased with himself. “I haven’t heard ‘no’ yet.” He dipped his head to hike his bag over his shoulder, smoothing the strap down coolly. “Shall we, then?” **  
**

Blaine tilted his head, indicating the door, and they headed out while bracing against the brisk wind. “I’m parked down the street aways.” They had exited at a street corner and Kurt pivoted to press the button, crossing in the right direction as soon as the light shifted in their favor. He was mute but seemingly serene. Pairs and clusters of people passed by, but they seemed rather irrelevant along with the steady stream of traffic flowing by on the thoroughfare. **  
**

For all that Kurt was the one to initiate action, Blaine recognized he had always been the verbal side of things. Frankly, the man at his side had always talked more, but Blaine was the one to lead them into conversations more often than not; it’d brought on countless accusations that he thrived off unpleasant situations, to which he couldn’t produce very good defenses. **  
**

Well, now wasn’t a time for protecting one’s pride. **  
**

"It, um,” Blaine started, “It might be kind of difficult finding somewhere decent to eat tonight.” **  
**

"I know, I know. I have a feeling about this place I saw while I was walking, though. Mind giving it a shot?” **  
**

"No, of course not. I’m glad you’ve got a place.” Blaine indicated the underground parking to their right and they descended down its ramp, blinking to get the spots out of their eyes. He lifted his finger to indicate the corner where his car sat. **  
**

"I don’t mind waiting, either,” Blaine added. **  
**

Kurt looked back from where his hand hovered by the car’s trunk, waiting for Blaine to fumble to the right key. “Oh no?” he said. Kurt opened the trunk and, after asking with his eyes, placed his bag inside out of the way. Blaine approached to pull out his own pack, pulling it to his stomach to shuffle through discreetly for the can of spray. He handed it over and Kurt exhaled his thanks, beginning to apply mousse while looking in one of the rear windows. **  
**

Blaine shuffled his feet. “I’m gonna... wait behind the wheel. It’s marginally warmer.” **  
**

Kurt nodded silently, absorbed. **  
**

"You know...” Minutes later, Kurt’s voice floated to his ears and their eyes met in the rear-view mirror. He continued on airily, “I booked a double at an airport hotel in case you couldn’t make it, just so my dad or Finn wouldn’t have to drive out tonight. There’s no charge if I cancel, I just thought I might... make it known in case you might feel too worn out or whatever for the trip back – although of course I’d be willing to split the driving if you were alright with it.” His eyelashes fell to mantle his cheeks and he groped for the spray again, stepping a few paces backwards to add finishing touches. **  
**

If Blaine hadn’t been certain before that this whole affair was an effort to torture him into insanity, this threw him over the edge. _He rented a room for the night, Blaine_ , he moaned inwardly. _He rented a room and it’s completely up to you and he gave you an out. How do you even accept without making him regret the offer?_ **  
**

 _First of all, do not lie._ **  
**

"Are you sure it’s not,” Blaine’s expression was pained at having to raise his voice so Kurt could hear him from the back, “Not too pricy? I wouldn’t want you to go through the trouble because of me.” He twisted in his seat. “I’d be more than alright with you driving my car, you know that. If you ask me, it’s best to start a drive like that in the morning but if you’d rather be home tonight, say the word.” None of it was expressly a lie. **  
**

"No, you’re absolutely right. I haven’t been in the driver’s seat in weeks, it’s definitely in our best interest to get some rest before we set back out. Blaine, would you happen to have a– oh, there it is, a lint roller, gorgeous...” **  
**

Blaine surreptitiously fished his cell out of his pocket and held it low by the console as Kurt wrapped up his primping. **  
**

**To: Sam Evans**

_I’m at a sleepover at yours if anyone asks._

_> >dude, it’s Valentine’s._

_It’s not weird bc you’re my Veep and we have budget things to discuss._

_> >Will I get an explanation?_

_Monday._

_> >Roger that. Make good choices, little man._

_Thanks_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The piano bar mentioned is [here](http://sidebar122.com) if you like blah blah blah it’s cute. Enjoy!

They’d chosen to walk to the place Kurt had in mind: Sidebar 122 in Downtown Columbus, a piano bar that was lit from within by sleek candles on the dark walnut tables and along the walls. The chairs were a lush brown leather, almost exclusively set two to a table, and servers weaved back and forth bearing trays laden with tapas and brightly colored cocktails. The sound of a piano, something like a trumpet, and a really rich bass rose up from what must’ve been the downstairs lounge. **  
**

Ahead and out of earshot, Kurt’s head was bowed as he murmured something to the hostess. She was nodding with perhaps the hint of a conspiratorial smile on her lips. All of a sudden, they both looked to Blaine and she signaled for them to follow. **  
**

With a final glance at the groups of people gathered around the entrance waiting for tables (whom Kurt had walked past without blinking an eye), Blaine slid by where Kurt was waiting for him to pass. As they moved, Kurt’s voice filtered through the buzz of the dining area: “It’s Mediterranean, with South American flavors as well.” Blaine had once claimed he might chop off his own thumb if it meant he could have fresh empanadas every day for the rest of his life. **  
**

"This place is a lucky find,” he replied as they took their places at a table snug along one wall. The hostess left them their menus before retreating with an affable smile. **  
**

"It certainly is. Luckier still that they let us have a table,” Kurt interlaced his lean fingers over his placemat. It seemed he was consciously suppressing the urge to bounce proudly in his seat. **  
**

Blaine eyed him up and down, hoping it came off less suggestively and more like a calculation. He very well could have asked the hows and whys, but didn’t fully want to hear it if _no_ , Kurt hadn’t made a reservation for the day after Valentine’s, he just really was as marvelous as usual at pulling strings. Instead he let his eyes trail over where Kurt was studiously looking over the tapas selection. **  
**

"Let me buy you that drink I owe you,” Blaine said. **  
**

Kurt looked up and rolled his eyes, amused. “The what?” **  
**

"Remember last month, when you called and we had a talk about Sondheim? About men’s fragrances?” **  
**

Kurt’s eyebrow fluttered. “Yeah, okay. That rings a bell.” **  
**

"Will you let me?” **  
**

"One of us has to drive.” Kurt smirked, watching a bowl of ceviche as it was carried past. “Are you saying I can trust you’re not too exhausted to get behind the wheel?” **  
**

"I am 100% positive I can get us to that hotel...” He licked his bottom lip, feeling courageous. “Even a little bit farther, though,” he paused, shaking his head, “I just couldn’t be sure.” **  
**

Kurt huffed a laugh, playing with the napkin at his lap. Before he could respond, a waiter came near with pita chips and hummus for the table. “Any drinks or starters for you, gents?” **  
**

"Which of your cocktails is your favorite?” Blaine asked, all devil-may-care. **  
**

The waiter pursed his lips. “Sweet or sour?” **  
**

Blaine scrunched his nose, eyeing Kurt in indecision. “Both.” **  
**

"You’re dealing with a guy who trusts that he can have it all,” Kurt smiled cheekily. His tongue sat just right in the curve of his pillowy bottom lip. **  
**

"I’ll bring you the Prada, alright? It’s got tequila and lime, froth, a little spice. Now if I could just see some ID’s for you two I’ll be on my way.” They reached for their wallets and each one composedly handed over his fake in turn. **  
**

"Alright,” the waiter drawled, nodding, “And for you, sir?” **  
**

Blaine glanced up. “Just a coke, please.” _And a bucket of ice for my blue balls._ **  
**

"Should I give you some time to decide on the rest?” **  
**

"Yes, please,” Kurt hummed, “I’ve heard good things.” **  
**

"Alright, alright, men, no rush. You’re here to have a good night, maybe discover a spark...” He winked at Kurt good-naturedly, patted Blaine’s shoulder with his free hand. “You can’t hurry these things, you know. I’ll be back.” And he was gone. **  
**

Within seconds, Kurt was back to narrowing down his selection. His index finger twiddled with the corner of the menu, idly working it into a flimsy ruin until he flipped the page to start anew. **  
**

"Can I–um,” Blaine began. They set their menus down. “Can I cover this meal?” **  
**

Kurt’s shoulders slackened almost visibly, his lips quirked minutely. “What do you mean?” he said, head tilting.

"I mean...” He was grasping; what was fair game? “Well, you’ve already determined that no drop of gas will be paid for by me – fine. We haven’t really talked about the fact you’ve offered up a hotel room but I’d really appreciate it if you let me at least chip in for that.” Blaine thought it was a bit much to even imply the plane tickets were bought with him in mind, so he left off there. **  
**

Kurt appeared nonplussed. “But you’re giving me a ride from Columbus. Y-you let me borrow your hairspray.” **  
**

Blaine couldn’t help but snort, though Kurt looked a little hurt. “No, I’m just– That wasn’t even a question. I wouldn’t ever _not_ give you a ride or _not_ let you have as much of my hairspray as you wanted.” _Somehow, even when he knows he’s lost, knows he wanted to lose, he won’t concede easy._ **  
**

Kurt’s nervous twitch still hadn’t shown its face again but the pleased glint in his eyes was back; “As much hairspray as I wanted, huh? And as for other... _product_?” **  
**

Blaine chewed his lip, biting down a laugh. “I’d need some time to deliberate.” **  
**

"Damn!” The flat of Kurt’s hand met the table with very little bite. “Almost scored myself a lifetime supply of gel with you none the wiser.” **  
**

"Kurt.” Blaine looked up, and he was just quick enough to catch Kurt’s eyes before they fell again. **  
**

"Will you please let me?” _Let me buy you dinner. Let me buy you thousands of dinners._ **  
**

Kurt considered, and they both looked on as he nearly submerged a pita chip in the hummus. **  
**

"Okay,” he answered, “But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna put on a brave face and nitpick about what we’re eating so they don’t charge you for more than a piece of lettuce.”

Well, good. Kurt didn’t do that kind of thing on dates, either.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You were the sweetest thing that I ever knew_   
> _But I don't care for sugar, honey_   
> _If I can't have you_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I like to pay attention to detail it somehow never occurred to me that this is Blaine's favorite holiday. I mean, it changes nothing, I just. It was a weird revelation.
> 
> Also. I know this was gonna be four parts. This part was hard – I gave it an inch and it took several miles. 4k...what? I'm sorry, the fifth part will be up shortly. Lyrics from Annie Lennox's "Walking on Broken Glass."

_Now every one of us was made to suffer/ Every one of us was made to weep_  
 _But we’ve been hurting one another/ And now the pain has cut too deep_  
 _So take me from the wreckage/ Save me from the blast_  
 _Lift me up and take me back/ Don’t let me keep on walkin’ on broken glass_  


**  
**Blaine entered the lobby of the airport inn with the overnight bag from his trunk over his shoulder, huffing the last of the icy winter air from his lungs. Kurt had gone ahead to check them in while Blaine parked his car. Leaden in his stomach was a weight of anticipation, swollen with bits and pieces from throughout the night: the pull of Kurt’s gaze from the passenger seat as they stalled at stoplights, the liquid heat that rushed his veins with every laugh he drew from Kurt’s throat. ****  


They met up in the elevator bay. Kurt was humming along as if he knew the tune of the muzak playing from the speakers, with one leg jiggling fiercely below him. His eye drifted to hold Blaine in his peripheral. **  
**

“Thank you, again, Blaine,” he spoke up, “Dinner was delicious.” And it had been. If all else failed, Blaine thought, it was still a night of good company, good food, good atmosphere. If he lied to himself, that was more than enough. **  
**

Shoulder to shoulder, the two of them slipped between the first doors to open. As they ascended Blaine leaned against the wall adjacent, rubbing a hand along his upper arm pensively. Kurt arched an eyebrow in question. “If I was wiser I probably wouldn’t ask...” Blaine began. “Did we have a reservation there before today?” **  
**

Their room was a handful of feet from the elevators. Kurt paused after retrieving the keycard from the slot and barely nudged the door inwards. “Don’t be silly. I didn’t even know for sure you’d be free to pick me up.” **  
**

Blaine continued as if he hadn’t heard. “Since about a week ago?” **  
**

“Perhaps.” His broad shoulders held fast to the door to let Blaine pass – his gaze, too, was instinctively unwavering. Blaine paused right in front of him and his free arm lifted – up at Kurt’s side below his pack, up where it would be a slip of silk away from touching the fleshy, vulnerable skin above his waistline – to flip the switch by Kurt’s hips. In the harsh relief of the hall light, Blaine smiled almost predatorily. “I think that’s the closest thing to a yes I’ll get.” **  
**

Kurt let the door fall shut as he walked past Blaine, eyeing the hotel room with a guarded mix of appraisal and resignation. Each of the two dropped his bag on the luggage rack so they sat side by side, unassuming. **  
**

Back at the piano bar as they sat awaiting their plates (to share), Kurt had admitted he wouldn’t mind another drink – “ _I_ am _on vacation, after all,”_ he’d said with a wink at Blaine, not at the teasing waiter who’d asked – but even now his tongue was still rather careful, flirty but reserved. **  
**

Blaine looked on from one of the armchairs by the window as Kurt rambled about, leaving barely-there touches everywhere his fancy landed. He played with combinations of lighting in the room until settling on a brightness that was a notch below 24-hour-drugstore, dragged the curtains to almost shut, fiddled with the thermostat until huffing and deeming it hopeless. Finally, he paced over to one of the double beds and began to manhandle the comforter, pushing the pillows aside and yanking it from on top of the bedsheets. Blaine sat up, holding out a hand, “Hey, hey. What are you doing?” **  
**

“You know you can’t actually use the comforters, Blaine. I wouldn’t even chance holding a black light up to one,” he shivered. Kurt’s back remained to him, folding and refolding the bedding until he held a compact puffy square in his hands. **  
**

“I was referring more to the fact you’re acting like the turndown service and it’s barely ten o’clock.” **  
**

Kurt angled his head from where he was occupied stuffing the first comforter onto the top shelf of the hall closet. “And when do you propose I do this, then? We should have an early start in the morning, right? Can’t just stay up playing with each other’s pigtails all night.” **  
**

Blaine tilted his head, his eyes narrowed in that achingly tender way. “Did I... offend you in some way, Kurt?” **  
**

“No, of course not, Blaine. You’re fine. Not a hair out of place.” And wasn’t that reminiscent enough of their past fights to be stomach-turning. **  
**

And then Kurt came back to himself a bit. He leaned on the wall opposite, steadily driving the toe of his boot into the carpet like he intended to leave a mark. He threw his head back with a smirk, eyes closed. Blaine waited. This was a time when he had to remind himself, desperately, not to initiate. **  
**

“You know sometimes when I’ll tell you I did something,” Kurt started, hands cupping elbows behind his back, “And you’ll tell me it’s alright, or we’ll be fine in the end, or mostly that I’m not as horrible as I sometimes think?” He continued to curve his spine, shoulderblades lifting him to arch more and more, as if it was taking him away from this conversation. “Like if I were to cold shoulder someone for a stupid reason for weeks on end – that’s something you’d never do, you’re _good_ like that – you wouldn’t instantly tell me to sort myself out, and you’d listen, and you might give me advice. **  
**

“But if I fought for it and insisted I’m horrible, you’d fight right back, give me all the reasons why I’m wrong. And we both know that you’re not completely right, either. My heart can be cold and lonely and–” he choked on a snotty laugh, “ _really_ talented at lashing out...” **  
**

The heating clicked off and Kurt quieted for several moments, his breaths coming soft and quaky. **  
**

“That plane ticket,” he began again. “I bought it last week without giving anyone else a second thought, really. Anyone but you,” he amended, eyelashes fluttering atop his cheekbones. “If that wasn’t obvious. I just... didn’t even think. If I’d called last week and you said you had plans already I’d be so tempted to cancel my reservations, or maybe go to Lima and just fake sick at the house.” **  
**

Blaine still watched calmly, listening with shoulders hunched, elbows braced on his knees. “And what about my overnight bag? The hairspray? That was something, wasn’t it?” **  
**

Even across the room he could tell Kurt’s cheeks had pinked. “I couldn’t very well have told you I had a room if I knew you’d freak yourself out on account of not having your stuff.” **  
**

Blaine didn’t let his thoughts linger there long. “Is this really the only break you’ll probably get until summer, then?” **  
**

Kurt met his gaze abruptly and a tear broke free, slipping along his nose and into the corner of his mouth. “That part was true.” He smiled ruefully, attempting to swipe a thumb under each eye discreetly. **  
**

The only sound to meet their ears was the dissonant scritch of Blaine’s palms against the thighs of his pants. He stood and cleared his throat. “Which part wasn’t true?” **  
**

Kurt looked alarmed. “None of it! I wasn’t– I didn’t _lie_ , not once.” **  
**

“You kind of left things out, wouldn’t you say?” **  
**

Kurt’s eyes were still a little wet, his nose and cheeks mildly rouged, his lips parted and searching. Blaine hated to do this but it felt like a much better alternative to letting this night end in lost potential. That can’t have been what Kurt desired; he’d tolerated Blaine’s appalling Barry White impressions for half the car ride, they’d shared the _Valentine’s dessert special_ less than an hour ago. **  
**

“I was doing it for you,” Kurt said, his conviction revived. “I was planning... I was putting together a nice night as a surprise. So yes, I maybe omitted some things, but it’s the same as anyone else would do for their–” **  
**

“Friend? One hundred percent untethered, unromantic friend?” He was certain that if he’d been a few steps nearer he would’ve been able to see Kurt’s jaw barely shifting in frustration. **  
**

“When I said earlier that what you do is fight me on these things, what I wanted to say was that I really hope you have a good argument for what’s been running through my head right now. Well, all night, really. Because I’m afraid,” he paused, palms unconsciously turned outwards in supplication. “Afraid that this whole _thing_ was kind of a horrible thing, that it’s gonna end up being bad for even our friendship. For all that it may seem selfish – getting you to myself, asking you to clear your agenda, even letting you buy me dinner – I’ve been scrabbling to think of what we need to make things right and I thought this was what we needed.” And this was where it was apparent Kurt probably had been affected by the alcohol, as he dragged his fingers fiercely through the hair at the nape of his neck. **  
**

“All this time I’ve really wanted you to tell me that this was the right direction. And here’s the selfish part: if it isn’t, then I would’ve loved to learn that I haven’t just done something pretty awful to my heart. But you haven’t–” Kurt hiccoughed and slapped the back of his hand over his mouth, eyes squeezed tight to will away the ache in his throat. **  
**

Infinitely slow and careful, Blaine had come to sit an arm’s length away, on the bed at Kurt’s side. With the same degree of fondness in his eyes, he wrapped two fingers feather-light around Kurt’s tensed wrist. “Haven’t what?” ****  


Kurt shook his head, eyes fixed on some point on the ceiling. ****  


“As much as I hate... _talking about it_ , Kurt, I know the capacity I have to hurt you. Do you remember during that phone conversation I mentioned, how you said that we might end up together, we might not, but we shouldn’t want it for the wrong reasons, and we shouldn’t push for it either? I know you sort of meant that you didn’t want to rush yourself if you wanted _us_ back but it might not have been what was right for you. But doesn’t that also apply to me? Even when I was going through every day thinking of ways to win your trust back, it doesn’t mean I should’ve blindly gone after what I wanted. I didn’t have the right.” **  
**

“You always have the right. People lie, people cheat, they’re still people.” Kurt’s tone was biting, not as a punishment but definitely as a reprimand. Stubborn. He still hadn’t looked down. **  
**

“I guess it didn’t feel fair, pushing the topic when I’m to blame for fucking things up.” **  
**

“Bull. You push, I push back. I have the right to say no, and I do, and I would’ve. But I haven’t had the opportunity to, so maybe you should be pushing harder. Or at all.” **  
**

“ _I haven’t heard ‘no’ yet,”_ Kurt had said. Neither had Blaine. **  
**

“Damnit. Kurt, I don’t want to be responsible for hurting you ever again." At some point Blaine had let go of Kurt and started talking with his hands. "I don’t– I fucking can’t... I can’t even think straight sometimes, knowing that I _cheated,_ and I hurt the man I love so entirely. I’ve never been so aware of the pain I could cause if you let me in again. _God,_ Kurt. You’re right here in front of me, and not only did you forgive me, but you’re giving me a second chance.” **  
**

“Giving _us_ a second chance,” Kurt corrected. “You don’t get credit for all the screw ups.” **  
**

“There’s no way that taking me back could cause you less pain than what we have now. We have each other. This is safe. There’s no reason you should put your heart on the line for someone who was so careless with it before,” he said imploringly. **  
**

“When would you say you started to care about me?” Kurt met his gaze piercingly, toying with a cufflink between thumb and forefinger. **  
**

Blaine gaped, then worked out the answer, obvious to both already: “The moment I saw you at Dalton.” **  
**

“I was lost, hmm? And maybe cute. **‘** _Adorable,’_ right? Not hot, not really. Okay. And,” he drawled, “when did you stop caring?” **  
**

“I never– I haven’t ever _stopped._ You’ve practically been what I cared about most since the day we met.” And it was startlingly true; Kurt had long been his first thought when he awoke, his final prayer before bed. **  
**

Kurt nodded. “What I want is for you to understand as long as that remains true, I don’t need to _know_ anything. I’m not going to waste time trying to find a sure thing. If you haven’t noticed by now, I don’t particularly _like_ safe. I trust you and you give me _reason_ to. You broke my trust once but somehow I have a hard time believing you’ll do it again. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I fell in love with your personality, with the Blaine who thoughtfully brought me coffee every week of my senior year and the one who just serenaded me with disco songs of all things–” **  
**

“Those were all great songs.” **  
**

“Like I said, _disco_ , and I somehow didn’t mind. I...” He hesitated before weakly intertwining one of Blaine’s hands in his, letting himself bask in the snug weave of their fingers. “I don’t love how either of us acted this past year. We have a laundry list of things to look out for if we try again. Even so? I _really_ want to try again.” **  
**

Blaine paused for a long time, thumbing one of Kurt’s knuckles distractedly. “Are you sure about this?” **  
**

“Alright,” Kurt delicately laid his other palm on the bedsheets beside Blaine’s thigh. “You know that I don’t put stock in God or in multiple gods, I even have a really hard time trusting qualified medical professionals because of a lifetime of experience. But when I’m telling you I have faith in you, Blaine, you’re gonna need to accept that even if you don’t trust yourself right now. If you’re second guessing because you’re afraid of your potential to hurt me, I won’t let that go. If you’re saying that for any other reason, then we’re fine. We can stay the night in Columbus or you can drive us to Lima right now or you can drive back and my dad can pick me up here tomorrow morning." **  
**

He continued, “But you’re not allowed to decide what I want or who I’m allowed to let in. If you want this and I want this? From my side, I know I’m ready to give us another opportunity. _Both of us._ And I promise to work hard at making us better. So will you trust me to trust you right now? Will you do that for me, Blaine?” **  
**

“Okay,” he replied, eyes searching Kurt’s. **  
**

“Can we be us again, do you think? Do you want that?” **  
**

“Yeah. _God,_ so much, Kurt. If you’re sure you want me then I’m sure I want us together, more than anything else.” **  
**

“Good,” Kurt grinned, his nose rumpling sweetly. “Then we’re agreed.” **  
**

Blaine watched Kurt’s face, the pink rims under his eyes, the gorgeous slip of teeth that Kurt never even bothered trying to hide when it was just them. His right eyebrow, which Blaine always kissed first (if he could help it) because it was the one that always lifted at the first test of Kurt’s patience. His muted dimples, the sight of which could take Blaine’s breath away; he could usually return the favor with a well-timed lick and suck to the mouth-watering dimples of Kurt’s that lay 'below the Equator.' **  
**

Kurt’s eyes widened subtly when the silence between them had stretched on, when his smile had suspended their eye contact for too long. He began to shift uneasily and withdraw his hands but Blaine gave him an urging tug, light but unmistakable. **  
**

“I think we’re allowed,” Blaine said. “If you want to.” **  
**

Kurt smiled sheepishly, rubbing his nose into the crook of his shoulder. His grasp tightened once again and he drew Blaine closer, as if Kurt was pulling the other off his seat and onto the dancefloor. At such proximity Blaine faltered and shuffled to keep his footing, but it wasn’t strictly necessary; Kurt’s warm hands cupped his neck, grounding them both at once. Blaine’s pleased gasp was swallowed right up as those plush ruby lips sealed to his. It was reckless: latching onto lips and sucking until one or both ran short on breath, panting aborted sugar-laced breaths before coming back for more, shuddery laughs at the occasional click of too-eager teeth. **  
**

Blaine’s weather-chapped fingers had come to caress the indent of Kurt’s torso just below his ribs, coarsely running up and down as if summoning the sense memory of firm but yielding skin, just a breath away from his. One of Kurt’s arms braced across the back of his shoulders, his fingers massaging under the shoulderblade as if they hoped to bring Blaine’s pulse to the surface, while the other arm had drifted up to cup the back of Blaine’s head, fingertips delicately guiding its tilt. **  
**

Kurt was rather indelicately rolling his tongue, wriggling to get the better of Blaine and capture the honeyed corners of _his_ mouth, when Blaine pulled away a few inches, chest heaving. Presumably, Kurt’s desire to overpower came off as a struggle. **  
**

“Is this alright?” he asked, fervently eyeing a purpling swell on Kurt’s lip, then turned his bright eyes back to Kurt’s. **  
**

Kurt scoffed, rolling his eyes warmly. “More than.” He ducked back in, suckling on Blaine’s own bottom lip, nipping and teasing until Blaine couldn’t resist licking back inside to taste again. **  
**

Amidst letting his tongue reacquaint itself with the mesmerizing hollow behind Kurt’s front teeth, Blaine was well aware his free hand was fidgeting to explore further south. It made its presence known slipping between the wall and Kurt’s back, briefly nudging at the elastic of his briefs, warm to the touch. **  
**

Kurt’s jaw slackened and a muddled plea fell from Blaine’s lips, but too suddenly Kurt’s head was tipped back and his hands were digging Blaine’s out from where they sought out the heat of Kurt’s lower back. **  
**

“Not tonight,” Kurt said, and they were both sobered in a beat. **  
**

“No?” **  
**

“Don’t want you thinking you can just wine and dine me, love,” Kurt fiddled with their entwined hands, held up between them. **  
**

“We can do whatever you’re okay with, but you know I don’t think that,” Blaine replied. **  
**

“I know.” He smiled calmly. “We can still...” **  
**

“Play tonsil hockey?” **  
**

“Yeah, well. We can if you want. First, feel free to take a breather.” **  
**

Blaine smirked, “I’m sorry?” **  
**

“You look like you could blow off some steam.” **  
**

“In... the next room.” **  
**

“I don’t really feel like we should... consummate things, not this fast. I guess I kind of want to know we’re good. We’re still gonna have to manage without getting to touch, most days. You can have the room, if you like.” Kurt dipped his head, dropping a lingering kiss to one of Blaine’s knuckles. **  
**

Blaine shook his head, even as his hips jumped in response to a kitten lick between two of his fingers. **  
**

“I can leave, if you want, find a vending machine or something,” Kurt offered. **  
**

“I think I want you as close as possible.” **  
**

Kurt beamed, already pushing him towards the restroom. He grazed the taut skin below Blaine’s ear with his teeth, laving over the spot carefully. “Be sure to knock on the door when you’re finished,” he whispered, eyes aglint. “Promise we’ll make this worth the wait.” **  
**

They went on to take care of themselves with that wall between them, once and then again after spending another hour hips-apart on one of the double beds. Each time Blaine took the time to clean up his appearance – and Kurt must’ve been working his own typical magic with wipes and a comb – but they couldn’t, didn’t want to conceal the brilliant flush of their cheeks, the strange buzz of getting off together yet apart. **  
**

At their first reunion just outside the bathroom door, Blaine had mouthed up the side of Kurt’s neck and collected the salty taste of sweat along his hairline. Then, when he had buried his face in the pillows to wait for Kurt to return from the bathroom mirror, he’d moaned outright, brash and shameless. “Kurt,” he’d groaned, “It smells like sex.” **  
**

Kurt had snorted as he rounded the corner back into the main room. “If you want to sleep on the same bed, maybe we should wear ourselves out on this one then _strip_ **–”** he paused, patting Blaine’s ankle, “the covers off the other one, sleep there. What do you think?” ****  


“I think I’m not old enough to be worn out by an orgasm and some heavy petting, so I may have to throw in a hundred-meter dash.” **  
**

“Aw, Blaine. No one said you were only allowed one orgasm.” So they’d gone for a second round, twisted though Blaine complained the set-up was; he recognized the need to know they were there for the right reasons, wanted to prove they could work as boyfriends better than they ever had before. **  
**

The midnight hour found both of them sprawled and facing each other (on the fresher bed), infinitely less wound up yet still abuzz. **  
**

“I want to come see you,” Blaine said, tiptoeing his fingers up and down Kurt’s forearm. **  
**

“In New York?” Kurt asked, quiet but alert. **  
**

“I know you can’t come see me,” Blaine said, “Not until the semester’s over, really.” **  
**

“When? I thought we already figured out our spring breaks don’t line up...” **  
**

“I know, but what does it matter if I miss a few days? I’m not even close to having the worst case of senioritis, but I know these months don’t count. I missed almost two weeks of my junior year at McKinley and I was still at the top of the senior math class, Kurt. I could come over for your break.” **  
**

“And do what? My days are gonna be filled with dancing at that workshop from sunup ‘til sundown, ‘til my ankles are the size of grapefruits. I’m just gonna be sweaty and exhausted and cranky whenever you see me.” **  
**

“But I’d get to see you, in person.” **  
**

Kurt’s eyes flickered up. “You think you’d be willing to put up with that?” **  
**

“Yeah, I do. And...” he lead on, “with any luck, I could use some of the daylight hours to scope out what might be my future schools.” **  
**

“I think you’re gonna get into every one you applied to, Blaine,” Kurt said, bring a hand up to caress the hair at Blaine’s temple lightly. **  
**

Kurt continued, “I don’t think I want to miss out on that. Maybe I can swing it so I transfer to the half-day program and still get some money back. Then you’d have me for the afternoons, still gross and bruised from kicking my own ass, but willing to run around the city.” **  
**

“That would be perfect.” **  
**

“Like I said, _maybe_.” **  
**

“Maybe we could round second base, too,” Blaine suggested. **  
**

Kurt slapped him on the shoulder. “Shut up. Was this such a bad night?” **  
**

The other’s face became sincere, lips pressed together. “It definitely wasn’t.” **  
**

Kurt rolled backwards to flip the switch on the bedside lamp, enveloping them in darkness. “Didn’t think so.” He felt a brush of air but no sound came. “Yeah?” he prompted. **  
**

“Thank you, Kurt.” ****  


“Happy Valentine’s, Blaine.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Yes, no, maybe is all I need to hear from you..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This exists almost solely because of Jo's much-appreciated urging and encouragement. She is my raison d'être when it comes to all things fic-related.
> 
> I should probably warn for comeplay. It's here! Also erm title filched from Foster the People, summary thanks to Cut Copy. When is it not? 
> 
> Please comment if you've opinions, complaints, non sequiturs, anything you need to get off your chest, etc.

Kurt was the first to stir as brash morning light poured through the slit in the curtains. The warmth of Blaine’s body radiated from behind him, and he took a deep breath almost entirely to watch the rise and fall of Blaine’s arm, the hand that clung like static to Kurt’s chest. He resisted the urge to splay out his limbs in an early morning unfurling, instead opting to wiggle his toes as far downwards as possible, barely suppressing a cozy hum at the stretch. 

It wasn’t a long wait before Blaine nuzzled closer; the arm snugly fit under Kurt’s pillow twitched uselessly, but the other dragged Kurt’s back flush to his front with no room for argument. ****  


And that was– _Oh._ **  
**

For all the days they _had_ been together, followed by many more when they, well, _hadn’t_ been, Kurt could tick off on his fingers how many nights they’d spent together in the same bed as friends, lovers, anything. Two of those nights which he tried to forget more often than not. So this, Blaine’s very real and very persistent morning wood, wasn’t something he’d encountered often. **  
**

And it was kind of right where Kurt wanted it. **  
**

Blaine was snuffling sweet nothings into the back of Kurt’s neck, obviously mostly asleep still. Lucky bastard wasn’t getting the brunt of the sunlight. Judiciously ensuring his movements wouldn’t disturb too much, Kurt wrangled Blaine’s fingers from the thin cotton of his sleepshirt and slipped one just barely past his lips, sucking then teething along the pad of his index in equal measure. **  
**

Nothing. Fine, then. **  
**

He took two at once, dipping his head rather than pull Blaine’s hand any closer, and began to tongue them in earnest, pausing to lick at the space between fingers, to lap at the underside hungrily. A muffled ' _mmf’_ at his ear let him know he finally had an audience. He paused, moved his hips as if to get more comfortable, and relished the sweet ' _ah’_ Blaine choked out at the shift. **  
**

"Morning," Kurt said, then returned his lips to Blaine’s fingers to suck more thoroughly. If he’d been holding back last night for both of their sakes, Kurt had no such qualms now: he was imitating what he wanted so overtly that Blaine was squirming, trying to raise himself up and watch without interrupting. **  
**

"Too good to be true," Blaine responded. He had settled for suckling at the back of Kurt’s neck, allowing his fingers to be dipped in and out of the wet heat of the other’s mouth. **  
**

"We don’t really need to have an early start, do we?" Blaine muttered between kisses. The occasional brazen moan tingled around his fingers and up his spine. **  
**

"You tell me." Kurt broke off and tried to look up and around to meet Blaine’s eyes. **  
**

Those eyelashes fluttered dazedly. "I... We don’t need one, do we? Do you want one?" **  
**

"Do you?" Kurt parried. **  
**

"I thought I was the one asking the questions." **  
**

"Yeah, okay. I don’t think we should start driving until later. What do _you_ want?" he prompted, nudging the crease of his ass pointedly right along Blaine’s erection. The body pressed along his back jerked backwards even as Blaine’s dick twitched unmistakably. **  
**

"Oh, Kurt," Blaine started, "We don’t have to– it’s just morning wood, it doesn’t mean anything." **  
**

Kurt turned over, face backlit by the early morning rays; their conversation was a secret all of a sudden, traded over whispers and breath. "So it doesn’t mean you’re interested, then? Doesn’t mean you’d like to?" His lips quirked delectably. **  
**

"What about wining and dining, Kurt?" Blaine asked softly. "I thought we were maybe waiting longer." **  
**

"I feel ridiculously clear-headed and sober – and before you ask, I did last night too, my tolerance for booze is much stronger than it used to be. And well, I wanted a little time, but I got that and now I’m good." **  
**

Blaine smiled shyly. "We haven’t had many chances for this, huh? Waking up together, no worries or distractions..." **  
**

"Feels good, doesn’t it? Regardless of what we do, this feels amazing right here." **  
**

"What do you want to do?" **  
**

Kurt bit his bottom lip in a calm smile. "I know what I want, Blaine," he said. "I know it and I take it. This is about what you want, what you need. What I’m trying to get across to you right now, yesterday too? I want your presence. This right here? There’s no Rachel, no Isabelle, no Carmen, no Cassie... and apparently I need to work on how much estrogen there is in my life. But what’s my attention focused on? You." **  
**

He continued, "So. Let’s see if this works. What do you need, Blaine?" Kurt’s eyes twinkled devilishly, and it wholly knocked the breath from Blaine’s lungs. **  
**

"You," Blaine gasped, "Oh my God, I need you." Without a breath he surged up and over Kurt, fumbling with the sheets to get to straddle his torso, thighs taut at his sides. They’d both slept in t-shirts, Blaine in Dalton track pants (with seemingly nothing else underneath) and Kurt in pajama bottoms. Blaine bucked down to grind their hips together, moaning sweetly at the friction. He bowed down, capturing Kurt’s lips in a wet, relentless kiss. **  
**

Kurt ran his hands up to palm Blaine’s shoulders, keeping him close as they tongued playfully back and forth, neither one maintaining the upper hand for long. Kurt was absorbed by feeling up Blaine’s torso, splitting his attention between playing the scale of his ribs as well as revisiting muscles that always made him weak-kneed: biceps, obliques, lower back and even lower. Almost immediately, Blaine’s hands had started pushing and tugging at Kurt’s tee, hoping to get it over his head and somehow remain attached at the mouth the whole time. Below him, Kurt puffed out a pleased laugh through his nose; he pulled back and eyed his impatient _boyfriend_ levelly. "Did you want something?" he asked, trying and failing to retain a straight face. **  
**

The glare he received in answer was far too adoring – Blaine couldn’t even play cold-hearted when he tried. **  
**

"I missed you," Kurt murmured, catching himself by surprise. It was bittersweet but needed to be said, it felt like. **  
**

Sitting upright, Blaine looked at once apologetic and overjoyed. "Missed you too, babe." He registered the jump of Kurt’s brow for putting the term in commission again – he also knew he would’ve been called out by now if Kurt had any objections. He went on, "I...I don’t know if I should say it just yet, but..." he paused, searching amongst the covers for apt words. "I hope you know I care about you above all else." **  
**

"I do, too," Kurt cooed, the corner of his eye glistening. He didn’t know if he could’ve reciprocated if Blaine had alluded to anything more – or rather, he didn’t want to shortchange Blaine, saying something he thought rather than knew to be the truth. **  
**

Blaine tilted his head in again for a sultry kiss, hands molding to the muscles of Kurt’s chest, tracing flitting patterns along the pliant skin. He doubled back, though. "I don’t want to push for too much," he said, frowning, "but I really want you naked." **  
**

" _Quelle coincidence!_ " Kurt replied, then leered theatrically. "I want you really naked, too." With that the hesitation on Blaine’s face was shooed away again. **  
**

They both shuffled breathlessly out of their own shirts, yearning for the first glimpse of estranged skin. Before Kurt’s shirt had even landed on the floor, Blaine flicked his tongue out over his thumb and went to tease one of man’s flush nipples, earning him a surprised whimper. Face attempting a scowl, Kurt jerked a hand up to grab Blaine’s before it could play on, leaving it to rest just above his trembling belly button. **  
**

"Cold?" Blaine asked, stomach fluttering in time with the tremors under his palm. **  
**

"Barely," Kurt answered. "Feels more like anticipation." **  
**

He grinned back, nodding his agreement. "I’ve got jitters." **  
**

Reluctant to lose his nerve, Kurt went to work his hands into the back of Blaine’s sweats – he nearly ruined his own pants then and there at the feel of tight bare skin, hot to the touch. The flesh of Blaine’s ass was still toned, still swooped in to form those curvy hollows, still seemed as eager for Kurt’s touch as he was to oblige. **  
**

While sustaining a steady slow grind to relieve the ache in their groins, from the front they were both enjoying the view revealed from the neck down – Blaine was leaner and winter had finally soaked up his tan, while Kurt seemed to have gained muscle, but with enough height to leave him loose-limbed and supple. He was a performer, and more of a dancer every day. They both were. **  
**

"I like this," Kurt whispered, well aware of the thoughtful gaze on him. He scratched lightly at the crop of hair above Blaine’s navel, lifting both hands to climb up his abs with massaging pressure, rub under his pecs, slip up his shoulders and around his neck to pull Blaine down to his lips again – he tipped into it with little resistance. **  
**

Soon enough Kurt was buzzing to see and feel everything. He shoved Blaine, who went with a whine, away from his lap so he could get those sweats off in a timely manner, and made quick work of his own pajama pants. It was impossible not to watch as Blaine lay half on his side, scrambling to shimmy his legs out of their sole layer. **  
**

Kurt lay staring, rubbing the heel of his palm up and down the bulge of his briefs, quite sidetracked from undressing for the moment. Intermittent sparks in his belly nearly made his eyes roll back with desire. **  
**

All at once Blaine’s cock swung free of the waistband and up to curve proudly along his hipbone, leaving a delicate string of precum on the heaving skin there. It was wide and flushed, the ridge of its head prominent (tantalizing, really), while his balls hung full, smooth like the rest of his groin. **  
**

Blaine looked up. "What are you doing?" **  
**

"Getting reacquainted," Kurt smiled coyly. **  
**

"What, with your own dick?" He crawled over, digging his fingers inside the briefs and tugging roughly, barely giving the man under him time to flex and lift his hips. Kurt pulled his knees to his chest to tug them the rest of the way off, then relaxed back into the pillow, letting Blaine get comfortable again, this time on his thighs. **  
**

They were silent for a beat, the heady thrum of pleasure mixed with the inner peace of reunion. Kurt’s lips parted to speak, but he was momentarily distracted by the shift of Blaine’s ass as he leaned in shakily to leave a peck atop Kurt’s shoulder. "Mmhmm?" Blaine hummed as he returned to sitting. **  
**

Kurt swallowed. "I want this to last," he said. _There it is_ , he thought. _The immediate truth wrapped up in a bigger truth._ **  
**

It looked like Blaine understood; he nodded sharply, sobered but still turned on, his eyes clear yet still dark and hungry. They both wanted the friction, to taste and touch and feel, but he didn’t want to skip any steps. They were a weekend away from spending weeks apart again. **  
**

"Now what do you want?" Kurt asked. If his dick twitched at all the answers he himself envisioned to the question, well he couldn’t really help that, could he? **  
**

Blaine’s eyes raked up and down the lithe form beneath him, hands warm on the raised muscles of Kurt’s pelvis. He lifted himself so he was seated more on his own heels. "I want...you know when we talked that day in January, you put that idea in my head of me being yours, of us being unique to each other. I, um, I think I especially needed to hear it when you said that you felt proud to be with me?" **  
**

"Of course I felt proud to be with you, Blaine." **  
**

"No– I mean, it’s not that you didn’t express it enough, Kurt. I just...for the longest time it felt like I was just a sidebar while you were in New York. Like, when we said goodbye it was my burden to bear that I was missing you. It didn’t sink in that you could be just as lonely in that great big city – just because you don’t always wear your heart on your sleeve, doesn’t mean you’re not feeling it." **  
**

"I’m a good actor." **  
**

Blaine considered that. "I’m just not used to you acting for me." Kurt quirked an eyebrow; that made sense. **  
**

"When we were talking about the cologne," Blaine continued, "it made me realize I _was_ there with you. I wasn’t abandoned or set aside when we weren’t around each other, I was–" **  
**

"You were all over me," Kurt finished. Soft though they were by now, it didn’t stop his arousal from stirring at the thought. **  
**

Blaine chewed the inside of his cheek, laughed. "I didn’t stop being a part of your life, any more than you stopped being part of mine. Honestly, some days it felt–" He cringed, then went on, "I had this weird panic and I thought about all those people who couldn’t know you had a boyfriend somewhere, and it got in my head that I needed to remind you of that fact, too. In light of the distance, the chemistry I knew we had flew out the window, replaced by... a lot of insecurity, a lot of shitty thoughts about myself. **  
**

"You said – and I remember this bit – you felt 'good in a way you never thought possible,’ knowing I was that cologne, that I was yours in every way. See, that didn’t occur to me. Later, when I thought about it, it fell into place. When you were in Lima, I was secure and happy knowing you were in my life, even when we weren’t right next to each other, even when we were dating and could only meet at the Lima Bean maybe once a week. Nothing should have changed." **  
  
**Kurt’s eyes softened. "That’s not fair to you, saying that." ****  


"Well, we know things did change. But if you’re asking me what I want right now – which you are, you always are –" Kurt squeezed his hand delicately "– then that’s what I want. If we’re together–" **  
**

"We’re together." **  
**

"...then I want it to be better than any other match seems like being. We’re allowed to need each other. I need you and even if I can’t always tell, you need me. For my sake, I need to learn that I’m with you even when I’m not." **  
**

"And I’m with you." **  
**

"Yeah. And that scent doesn’t fade," Blaine replied. **  
**

Staring idly at the curtains Kurt pondered the statement, holding Blaine’s forearms on either side of him and tracing patterns with his thumbs on the bony wrists. He came back with a challenging look in his eyes. **  
**

"Show me," he said. **  
**

Blaine blinked. Clearly his thought process hadn’t been very obvious. **  
**

"I need you to show me I’ve chosen the right cologne. But more importantly, I need to know that it doesn’t fade." **  
**

"Keep talking..." **  
**

"Blaine, I want you to show me you’ll be there with me long after we leave this hotel room, even when I’m six hundred miles away. I suggest you go about doing that soon or I will steal your keys to get back home and I won’t look back." **  
**

Eyes glazed over, Blaine hitched his ass forwards to align their bodies again; the touch was enough to reawaken their dicks, but he didn’t seem entirely consumed by that need just yet. Instead, he passed his tongue over his bottom lip and leaned closer with a focused gleam to his eyes. "All over you, huh?" **  
**

 _That’s it._ "That’s what I said." **  
**

"Alright... Where does _this_ cologne want to be applied first?" Blaine wondered aloud. **  
**

He looked up at Kurt through the curls that swept over his forehead, and raised Kurt’s hand to his lips. Without warning, he was sucking deep and long at the skin of the wrist, teeth grazing the fragile skin and drawing a groan from Kurt’s lips. His tongue swiped over and over, scalding and unpredictable, then quick as it came Blaine retreated, smiling lazily; the brilliant color of Kurt’s veins, blue green like his eyes, stood out on the milky surface against a blaze of fresh pink. **  
**

"Here." He moved to Kurt’s other wrist, simply licking and huffing little breaths over the spot until moving onwards, pressing open-mouthed kisses up the inside of his arm. Kurt shivered when he passed the elbow, sliding higher along the upper arm until pausing. **  
**

Kurt was eyeing him down his nose, awaiting the next move. It was so far past too much: Blaine’s warm skin pressed to his everywhere (except his behind, which was frankly torturous to watch, all proudly lifted in the air just so); Blaine’s features up close, concentrated on just this, just taking care of Kurt. The exposure he felt was an unrivaled feeling and had little to do with their nakedness. The flesh and bones were the medium used to intimately communicate where they had been, where they were, where they wanted to go. **  
**

Blaine braced himself on Kurt’s chest and straddled one of his thighs, then began rolling his hips teasingly, mouth dropping open when he found the right angle. He scooted forward so he could continue grinding, delivering shocks of delicious friction to their groins that left Kurt breathless, panting quietly. Then he descended to nose under Kurt’s jawbone, kissing tenderly at his neck and humming contentedly. "Right here," he murmured. **  
**

Faced with either clawing at the sheets for some relief from the pressure in his gut, or clawing at the body laid out above him, Kurt chose the latter, palms tingling as he raked his fingers down over Blaine’s shoulders, his slim waist, eventually gripping the swell of Blaine’s ass. He kneaded the skin hungrily and received a moan that vibrated at his own Adam’s apple. **  
**

"This is torture. You know that, right?" Kurt breathed, arching his neck further to give the other man more access all the while. All while nipping and pulling and sucking, Blaine was making irresistible rough, wet sounds right next to his ear, and it was enough to have Kurt lifting his hips instinctively. **  
**

With a gravelly laugh Blaine withdrew just enough to look him in the eyes. "If I did everything I wanted to all at once," he said, sneaking a finger back between them to fondle the planes of Kurt’s chest again, "we’d be stuck with a mess already." He eyed some mark (probably _marks_ , plural) that Kurt couldn’t see, but could start to feel on the side of his neck. "And with nothing to show for it," Blaine smirked. **  
**

"You’re gonna be the one walking me all the way to my father’s door," Kurt said. "Good luck with keeping a straight f- _ah,_ " he cut off as Blaine had swooped in to lave behind his ear. "Unfair," Kurt sobbed. **  
**

Blaine murmured an indistinct reply as he nuzzled behind his boyfriend’s ear, leaving kitten licks up and down until mouthing at the lobe, tugging fondly with his teeth. Before Kurt could ask, Blaine’s exhale was hot at his ear: "There, too." He continued, "I said that I have a scarf you can borrow as long as you keep your marks below my neck." **  
**

"How generous of you," Kurt mumbled. **  
**

Blaine quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe you can stink it up a little before you go." _Oh_ , again. How was he this quick on his toes while the rocking of his hips continued to accelerate, practically short-circuiting Kurt’s brain? **  
  
**Kurt’s face was hard but he made sure his eyes were soft enough his lover would be able to see through it. "Hummels don’t ' _stink,_ ' never have, never will." ****  


"Call it what you want." Blaine shrugged, a laugh in his eyes. He began to slink down Kurt’s torso, dipping his head to plant kisses across his collarbones and down his chest, jumping periodically to suckle at his nipples, winning himself brilliant gasps his lover never bothered to suppress. The rustle of the sheets, their mingled breathing, and the slick sound of Blaine’s lips parting from Kurt’s skin were all that could be heard in the hotel room. **  
**

Kurt couldn’t bear to hold still any longer; he arched his back up, careful not to throw Blaine off, and with a little urging the other man moved lower still, letting Kurt’s cock out from where it had been trapped under him. _Now_ he was allowing himself to look just as Kurt had earlier, and that look was as unbearably raunchy as ever, just an outright craving to wrap his mouth around Kurt’s dick. **  
**

"I don’t want you thinking," Kurt spoke before he could start, in the spirit of _wanting this to last dammit Kurt just let him blow you_ , "that I am the type of man who perfumes his loins." He was proud of himself for even remembering the metaphor with that _mouth_ nearby. **  
**

Blaine snorted out an answering laugh then braced his palms on the mattress to either side of Kurt’s hips, looking up through those lush eyelashes. Kurt’s hand, with a mind of its own, had closed around his cock and was jerking it unhurriedly. **  
**

"What if I want some of you all over me, too?" Blaine shot back. Kurt could’ve come right then, and he would’ve if his hand hadn’t squeezed tight immediately. Instead, as Blaine knelt down with his lips parted Kurt guided the head of his cock between them. **  
**

" _Oh_ my God," Kurt groaned, watching intently as Blaine took in inches avidly, beginning to set a demanding pace straightaway. His lips closed tight, Blaine sank down lower and lower each time, taking a pause every once in a while to flick his tongue over the dripping head of Kurt’s cock, teasing the underside and the slit with a fervor that was relentless. " _Ah_. What are you– _Blaine,_ I want you to– Oh Christ don’t stop..." Kurt could’ve sworn he saw the glint of Blaine’s teeth in a maddening grin before he went down again, groaning around the mouthful. With one arm firmly on the mattress still, he traced the other hand over to graze Kurt’s inner thigh and further down, rolling his balls with a greedy touch. **  
**

Kurt was moaning on and off between shuddery gasps, keeping his hips fastened to the mattress with the last of his self-control. When Blaine nosed the trimmed hair at the base of his cock then pulled off slow and dirty with mindblowing suction, Kurt felt his upper body jerk up, his hands grabbing for Blaine’s shoulders. **  
**

"Blaine, I’m gonna– shit, want you inside– oh God, Blaine gonna come gonna come get oh- _ahhh,_ " Kurt gasped and curled in on himself, vision going black as night as his gut burned, as he came and kept coming – he’d given as much warning as possible but rather than use his hand Blaine was still bobbing his head, was soaking up the dregs of Kurt’s orgasm with that ruby red tongue and those lips. **  
**

"You didn’t have to," Kurt said, then before Blaine could answer, "I wanted you to, um..." He trailed off. He was never as good with the words once the heat had faded in his belly. **  
**

Blaine went up to hands and knees, and he was still hard, still aching; now that, Kurt could manage. He began to jerk his boyfriend slowly, even at the awkward angle – Blaine’s breath hitched with surprise. **  
**

"What do you want, Kurt?" His voice was husky, eager. He pressed his lips to Kurt’s and they shared a deep kiss. Blaine lingered with his tongue gliding over the roof of Kurt’s and Kurt shivered with the taste and feel of himself, uncensored. **  
**

"I _wanted_ you to fuck me, Blaine," Kurt said. **  
**

An eyebrow and without missing a beat: "I thought we were allowed more than one?" Again with the quick wit. **  
**

"I couldn’t resist," Blaine continued between kisses. "So hot, taste so fucking good. Want you all over me even after the snow melts." Kurt wanted to see it on Blaine’s face at that moment, sloppy streams that he had considered shameful and repellent for _years._ Over and under and between. Experiences they’d never even voiced an interest in before. **  
**

Kurt bent forwards a bit, palming Blaine’s cheek for a rough kiss while fumbling with his outside arm to find the drawer in the bedside table, open it, dig around inside. His body was still loose and pliant, his hands not entirely willing to cooperate. With a triumphant peep, he held up a hand with a condom in it, paired with a small cylinder of lube. Blaine looked over and one side of his mouth lifted. "You couldn’t do _that_ before." **  
**

His boyfriend smirked, already popping the cap and slipping gel onto Blaine’s outstretched fingers. Kurt murmured, "I wasn’t gonna rub my dick raw last night before you could even touch it." **  
**

"Fair enough." Blaine took the opening to ease himself down so he was half-lying on Kurt’s torso, dripping kisses up and down his jawline while he settled a hand between his lover’s spread legs, easing in a finger, warm and slick. Kurt took it easily, knees folding up to help urge his ass up again and again, pushing for more. **  
**

"You didn’t explain the condom," Blaine breathed at Kurt’s ear. The second’s distraction let him test the resistance against another finger; Kurt nearly purred at the stretch and his cock began to swell, turned on by present _and_ future prospects. **  
**

"I didn’t know this would happen." Kurt swallowed, "But I– oh, again, oh my..." His knees twitched – surely Blaine should’ve taken longer to find it, it’s been _months_ **–** and Blaine was thrusting his fingers in with purpose now, grazing that point sporadically but not as a means to an end; fingers weren’t what they were here for. **  
  
**Kurt tried again. "But I hoped." ****  


"Did you, babe? I did," Blaine kissed him tenderly, pulled out to add another finger then pressed back in, careful not to force the muscle to give. "I did last night. I love, ungh," he moaned, thrusting shallowly into the junction of Kurt’s hip. "Love every inch of you, Kurt, missed you so much." **  
**

That was met with a gasp, a little wetter and more uneven than previous ones. **  
**

They’d been through the tears before, that wasn’t it; Kurt wasn’t shaken because of why they’d missed each other, it was because he’d missed Blaine, too, missed his friend and lover and Valentine and boyfriend. He was glad to have cause to use the term "missed" rather than "miss." Blaine glanced up and their eyes met; Kurt nodded hungrily, grabbing for the condom. **  
**

Blaine removed his fingers and scooted over to kneel between Kurt’s hitched up legs, bringing his thighs around to bracket the curve where Kurt’s legs met his ass. Kurt blindly handed over the condom for Blaine to put on as he reached for a pillow that wasn’t in use, shoving it under his lower back. And if he didn’t feel exposed before, well. **  
**

But just as prominent was the willful flutter in his stomach, almost a preview of what he knew was to come. Kurt didn’t, altogether, enjoy penetration: fingering himself on his own felt like an empty promise, and he got off with the single dildo he owned once in a blue moon. But with Blaine, it felt undeniably good. Felt unreasonably habit-forming. **  
**

Panting sweetly, Blaine shuffled forwards until he could guide his slick, covered cock with his hand, wrapping his other hand’s fingers around the space under Kurt’s knee. **  
**

"I want you to fuck me, Blaine," Kurt said. He’d had more than enough waiting. **  
**

Blaine responded at once, pressing his hips forward at a controlled pace, rocking minutely to help the adjustment further. He whimpered at the overwhelming sensation of silky, gorgeously tight heat. "C’mon," Kurt whispered, biting his lip. **  
**

Subtly shifting his weight so he could use both hands to brace Kurt’s legs, Blaine rolled his hips firmly, grinding into the flesh of Kurt’s ass when he was finally fully sheathed. Kurt could already feel the tension in Blaine’s body, his hips begging to pump forwards faster than he was willing. He pistoned his hips slowly at first, driving in all the way and pulling out to the head, breaths harsh as he kept up the tantalizing pace. **  
**

Kurt breathed out a sultry sigh as he was filled with thrusts that shook the whole bed. "Blaine, harder, you need to... I need you to fuck– ah, yeah," he spoke, shuddering with the increased pace, the tight pull of his body around Blaine’s cock, the brilliant flashes of white behind his eyes at the unrelenting slap of Blaine’s balls at the crook of his ass. Blaine was groaning – he had to come soon – and hiking Kurt’s legs higher to fuck in faster, sweat trickling down his temple as the heat in the air built and built. **  
**

Mesmerized by the picture above him, wrecked from head to toes, Kurt was ripped from that thought when Blaine’s cock grazed directly over those nerves inside him. Kurt’s breath whooshed out at once and the jump of his belly must’ve given him away: Blaine’s gasping lips puckered in determination and he thrust at that angle again. There it was, devastatingly good. And again, and not every time, but too much for Kurt to think straight. **  
**

"Blaine... you’re so fucking good, love this, right where I need you –" **  
**

Blaine tipped his head, suckled a kiss at the inside of Kurt’s knee. "Never gonna stop, Kurt. Yours. _God,_ I’m yours." **  
**

"Come down here," Kurt urged, letting his legs splay to either side of the man above him. Blaine bent over without a second thought, still alternating between snapping his hips frenziedly and adopting a gradual pace that brought their torsos into contact, skin slippery and warm against skin. **  
**

Blaine poured his all into this final stretch – he must’ve been instants away from release. He sucked brutally at the hinge of Kurt’s jaw, gnawing at the marks there and licking over, under, around. " _Ah,_ " Kurt whimpered, then threw a hand up to draw Blaine’s ear to his lips. "Want you all over my insides," he whispered fiercely, and he could feel Blaine nearly buckle above him, grunting breathlessly as he finally began to come. "Shit–" Blaine gasped, still plunging his hips in and out, body wracked with tremors that caused their own tingle in Kurt’s gut. **  
**

His head collapsed into the curve of Kurt’s neck. "I can’t believe you," he said, chuckling. He gently eased out and sat back on his heels to tie off the condom, twisting to throw it towards the wastebasket across the way. Licking his lips, Blaine returned to center his gaze on Kurt, who was still spread and hard and desperate for touch; Blaine swept a broad lick over his palm. Kurt’s legs had tipped open wide so that his hamstrings and inner hip muscles strained with a vague throb – still, NYADA was leaving its mark even on the way he fucked, apparently. **  
**

" _Want you inside. Want you_ all over _my insides,_ " Blaine fisted Kurt with a steady hand, repeating his words. " _Want you to fuck me,_ " he added, dropping a soft squeeze to Kurt’s sac with his left hand. " _Want you all over me..._ " His grip on Kurt tightened and he clambered nearer so he could nip a blunt fingernail over the peak of Kurt’s nipple. He leaned in and swept Kurt up in a wet kiss. " _Want you there with me. Want this to last._ " Kurt was gasping pleadingly, bucking his pelvis up into the circle that held his cock. **  
**

" _Need you, Kurt,_ " Blaine uttered, tonguing his way between Kurt’s lips until the two of them were tangled up, until Kurt was huffing out pants and then clutching at Blaine’s back, approaching sweet relief. His orgasm washed over him in a spine-tingling rush, milked from deep inside by his lover’s unending caresses, and they both stared at the pull of Blaine’s hand as it massaged the final streams free. **  
**

Kurt remove the cushion from under him and sank back into the pillows softly, his eyes on Blaine as the man considered the come trickling between his fingers, running down his arm. He watched, pulse thrumming, as Blaine lapped at the creamy strand that originated at his palm, getting some on his nose in the process, then getting more at the height of his cheekbones when he clearly decided to pursue that avenue further. **  
**

Once he’d sufficiently cleared the mess of his arm Kurt beckoned him closer to suck at the few spots where he’d marked up his tawny skin. Blaine eventually let his body come to rest at Kurt’s side, with one thigh slung over his and Kurt’s arm wrapped snugly around his back. He raised his head periodically to peck a bright kiss at Kurt’s nose or forehead, and soon enough Kurt came around to the idea they were going to cut the noon check-out time very close; he found himself hard-pressed to care as he pulled the soft cotton sheets up around them, beginning to ease his breathing to complement the rhythm of Blaine’s. **  
**

"That was..." **  
**

"Perfect," Blaine finished. There was a quiet tinkle to his voice. **  
**

"We well and truly got all over each other," Kurt said with wonder, his thumb stroking the curve of Blaine’s shoulderblade. He paused, then, "I know this weekend’s gonna be a whirlwind, and it hurts that we only get this and then weeks apart again. But we’re gonna do better, I know it. Maybe I will get you over my Spring Break and then I’ll be off school before you even graduate and it’ll be difficult, but we’ll learn. I think we can be good together, far apart _and_ close by." **  
**

"Any regrets?" Blaine asked after a silence. And Lord, was he a ballsy talker. ****  


"None," Kurt replied, and the truth in that felt better than he thought possible. _Just love._

 


End file.
